


One Single Realisation, One Single Accident, A Fourth Duality

by NightDoktor



Category: Bleach
Genre: Canon divergent after Aizen defects, Ichigo learns faster without the Hollow's interference, M/M, Slow Burn, Slow burn Ichigo/Toshiro, Strangers to Lovers, Zangetsu is split in half, dark representing the eaten chain, dead!Ichigo, eventual smut bc I'm all about that gay shit, light representing the other half of his soul, nonHollow!Ichigo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-26 01:05:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13846812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightDoktor/pseuds/NightDoktor
Summary: Set before Ichigo enters the cavern underneath the Urahara Shop to unlock his own Shinigami powers. Should he take a second to look around more, Ichigo would notice something odd about Zangetsu.Armed with a better start on his Shinigami powers, eventually runs into a frosty Captain and his troublesome lieutenant who won’t stop shipping them, especially after Ichigo suffers a fatal accident in the World of the Living, leading to a full-time Gotei 13 enlistment under the 10th Division.





	One Single Realisation, One Single Accident, A Fourth Duality

 

Just a small pilot chapter for something I've had bouncing around in my head for a few days. Please let me know in the comments what you think!

 

* * *

 

 

Ichigo had to marvel at the expanse before him, as he descended the ladder into what felt like the end of the road.  
He gritted his teeth as he fought a growl from remembering why he was here. That bastard Byakuya. Steeling himself, he dropped the last few rungs and spun to face Urahara, who already had his cane aimed at Ichigo’s chest.

Backing up as Urahara advanced on him, the blonde shopkeeper cracked a grin.  
“Now, if you wouldn’t mind knocking out little Ururu-chan here, this will be your first trial.”

“What? You want me to beat up a little girl?!” Ichigo cried, indignantly pointing at Ururu, who approached with what looked like boxing gear scooped up in her skirt.  
“Please put these on for safety, Ichigo-san.” She meekly asked, donning her own gear.  
Ichigo scoffed, before the girl simply disappeared, to his human vision, and the ground in front of him exploded in a grand shower of dust, dirt and debris that skimmed his arms, leaving harsh grazes in their wake.

Blinking rapidly in shock, Ichigo scooped up the gear and tried running while putting it on. He spun to face Ururu, just in time to see her fist hurtling right at him!  
Moving in the space of a split second, Ichigo dodged her hit, and noticed instantly that his speed was increasing.  
Fuelled by this discovery, he ducked, lunged and shot a fist out at Ururu, but the corner of his glove caught her cheek, drawing blood.  
The next thing Ichigo knew, he was cradled into Tessai, who had cushioned his impact into the solid rockface behind him, and Urahara was restraining the full force of Ururu’s kick.

“Congratulations! Trial One is done. Now, Tessai-san, if you would…?”  
Ichigo barely had any time to scoot backwards with a yelp before the burly man came crashing down with a comically oversized axe, cutting Ichigo’s soul chain cleanly.

Ichigo screamed, and got up to run, making it 4 paces before Tessai’s heavy weight crashed him into the ground.  
“And that’s far enough, Kurosaki-kun. Remember, don’t rush this. You have limited time. Your Zanpakutō is within you, a part of you. Have fun!” With the brief, sombre explanation, the shopkeeper snapped his fan shut, and the ground beneath Ichigo and Tessai disappeared, leaving them dropping into a vast cylindrical pit, noticing in his fall, how there were no scalable surfaces on the rock around him.  
Landing in a heap, he shot back up and cursed out the shopkeeper, noticing the chain attached to his chest, and the bonds tightly sealing his arms together.  
  
A few steps away, Tessai sat with his legs crossed, and holding a hand seal.  
“ **Bakud** **ō #99:** Kin. I’m sorry Kurosaki-san, but until you unlock your Shinigami powers before becoming a Hollow, I must forbid the use of your arms. You have 3 days to regain your power before your Soul Chain disintegrates completely. Please do not dally.”  
Ichigo’s blood ran cold, and a shock ran down his spine. Breathing faster, he glanced around like a wild animal, before clutching at the chain, which started to eat itself away, demonic, inky black mouths developing on the cold metal, devouring itself.

_Wait._

Urahara was never one to leave out information that was crucial to his own agenda being fulfilled. Ichigo was not that naïve. He had said there was limited time, which now made sense, looking at the chain and the progress of the infection, which had greatly slowed.  
  
_So it’s affected by my mental state. Makes sense._ Ichigo mused, letting the chain fall to his side as he rolled into a sitting position. He didn’t know too much about meditation, but now was the time.  
Pointedly ignoring the gnawing feeling of the chain, Ichigo settled into his mind, and was astounded to see hundreds, no thousands, possibly _millions_ of ribbons whipping around him.

Thinking back to the information that Urahara had given him, Ichigo set to unlocking the next piece of the puzzle.  
Sweat rolled down the side of his face, but he persevered in ignoring the settling feeling of dread.  
_It’s a part of me, then? Where am I?_ He looked around, and tried to reach out, but felt nothing.

Reaching deeper, he pushed past the almost overpowering urge to reach out to the red stained silk ribbon, flashing back to the memory of Ishida telling him about sensing reiryoku and fell further into his psyche.  
He found himself collapsed into a heap on what looked like a… skyscraper? Pushing himself up and looking around, he dropped to his knees and desperately grabbed onto any surface of the glass he could, before his heart rate slowly crawled to a normal rhythm as he noticed the buildings were somehow sideways. Gravity would keep him on the side surface, it seemed.

Now calmed, he looked up and drew a short breath in alarm.  
He stood uneasily, and hesitantly put a foot forward. He eyed the two beings, and glanced between them, waiting for an attack.

“It’s impressive that you made it this far, Ichigo.” Said the one on the left.  
“ **I half expected you to grab the ribbon and fuck it all up. You’re quite good at that.** ” Said the one on the right.  
“Shush, White. Look at him, all scared to bits.”  
“ **And this is why he got this far? No, he’s more. He’s an idiot.** ”

Ichigo’s eyes flicked back and forth, watching this strange exchange between the two old men, one skin pale alabaster, cloaked in shadows as dark as night, on a white wakizashi, situated on the left, and the other a writhing mass of darkness, cloaked in pure white light, standing on an identical blade, differing only in that it was as black as the body of the man, situated to the right.

“Who… Who are you and where is this is in my mind?” Ichigo managed to speak, feeling weighed down by an imperial force, originating from the duo.

“ **Oh, he speaks. Finally.** ”

“That’s not a polite way to introduce yourself? I take it you’re my Zanpakutō, right?” Ichigo quipped, finding it easier to stand and feel the pressure around him.

“Ah, but which one of us? One of us lies, the other tells the truth.”  
“ **This game is so much fun!** ”

Ichigo clenched his fists.  
“We honestly don’t have the time for this! I’m turning into a Hollow!”  
At this, the dark wraith appeared to smile.  
“ **We have all the time in the world for that, Ichigo.** ”  
“The powers that you lost when Captain Kuchiki attacked you were the ones that he was aware of, the loaned spiritual power from Kuchiki Rukia. Your own powers had awakened, but still lay dormant in the recesses of your soul. And now, here we are.”

Steeling himself once more, he pointed to the crumbling tips of the buildings nearby.  
“Are you sure?!”

The two men exchanged looks.

Ichigo yelled out in frustration, and walked towards the two spirits.  
  
_Wait, two spirits?_  
The red ribbon trailed from the sky.  
Arcing through his mind, his world, and wrapped around both spirits, spiralling, dancing, into the inky dark.  
Leading to a wakizashi, identical to the ones the wraiths stood on, but this time it was different. The hilt had red fabric, and a blue cord tied onto the end, and a rounded, rectangular tsuba with flame motifs carved into the panels.

Unbidden, Ichigo grabbed the hilt, and sensed, no, felt, the two halves of his soul finally meet, and stitch together.  
Opening his eyes, still holding the sword, Ichigo glanced between it and the two men, the dark rather smug, and the light rather pleased.

“You’re not two people. I can feel you in this blade. You are two halves of a whole, like I am with you.” Ichigo felt a fire within him, and smiled at the power.

“ **Well I’ll be damned, the kid’s not a total idiot, Light.** ”  
“Dark, that’s no way to talk to our wielder.”  
“ **Being the only one here that isn’t an idiot, I’ll tell you our name. But, would you mind leading with the call, Light?** ”  
“Must I do everything, Dark? Fine,” the light wraith turned its attention to Ichigo, disappearing one heartbeat, and appearing the next, his wakizashi embedded in the **Hakusui** (Soul Sleep).

“Listen carefully, Ichigo. To call us, you must ask. _Cast off your fear! Look forward, never stand still, retreat and you shall age. Hesitate and you will die! Open the sky,_ ” the light wraith was cut off, as the dark wraith launched forward, blade sunk deep in his **Saketsu** (Soul Chain).

“ **Zangetsu**.”

Back in reality, deep within the pit, Ichigo let out a wild roar, shooting to his feet, shihakushō flapping about, caused by the great release of reiatsu.

The **Bakud** **ō** spell binding his arms shattered under the strain, and Ichigo launched himself out of the pit, and shot forward, swinging his wakizashi at Urahara, who smiled blandly, unsheathing his own blade and blocking the blow.

“Well, well, well, Kurosaki-san. You’ve succeeded in unlocking your birthright, your very own Shinigami powers. Time for Trial Two; you must knock off my hat with that Zanpakutō of yours. There is no time limit, but I will be trying to kill you!” He merrily pronounced, sinking into a fighting stance after throwing Ichigo off with a rough shove of his blade.

“I’d suggest you follow suit, Kurosaki-san. I wouldn’t want you to die.” Urahara fanned himself once more, before becoming serious.  
“Awaken, Benihime.” The handle of the cane exploded, revealing a katana, but the end was cut off sharply, and the rear of the hilt was bent forwards.

Ichigo began to focus on his own blade, holding it forwards with both hands, recalling the words that his Zanpakutō spirits had imparted to him, before removing the blocks on his soul, freeing his power.  
Reiatsu began to condense around him, choking the air and weighing everything down like lead.  
“Cast off your fear! Look forward, never stand still, retreat and you shall age. Hesitate and you will die! Open the sky, **Zangetsu**!”

Ichigo spread his hands, each holding a moderately long curved dagger, each with a shadowy black upper area, and a pure white bladed section.  
He took a moment to marvel over the blades, feeling both unique, yet unified spirits in both blades, the picture of harmony.  
Gripping the daggers, he launched himself forwards, slashing outwards with both blades, however Urahara wedged his own in between, launched himself up, and vaulted over the new Shinigami, lashing out with a vicious kick!

Ichigo went flying, skipping like a stone thrown over water, kicking up clouds of dust as he flew across the cavern, before coming to an abrupt halt into a rockface, this time with no Tessai to cushion the force of impact.

The dust cleared, and Ichigo rose to his feet.  
“Geez, that’s some kick you have there, Mr Shopkeeper!”  
Urahara had the decency to appear sheepish, giggling behind his fan.  
“I must know how to defend against would-be robbers and vagabonds such as yourself!” He called back, instantly stowing his fan as Ichigo launched forwards once more slashing wildly.

“My my, let’s get you more attuned to actual combat. Pity I can’t get Kyōraku here to show you… or Ukitake…” Urahara muttered the last part, wishing he could enlist the help of those he was sending the boy off to fight.

Ichigo made to run forwards again, when he was forcefully yanked into his spirit world, where Dark and Light were perched on their sealed swords once more.

“ **You’re not even going to ask us how to fight?** ”  
“Is now really a good time, Dark? He’s zoned out right now with a crazed shopkeeper bent on ‘training’ him via death.”  
“ **Maybe it’ll stop his incessant yelling**.”

Ichigo sighed, pinching his nose.  
“Both of you, please. Why did you bring me here if only to bicker in front of me? Again?”  
Both halves of Zangetsu had the decency to glance between themselves and at least pretend to be sorry.

“We brought you here to show you how to use us in combat.”  
“ **And maybe not be so useless. It’s simple, you can fire one or two bursts of high density reiryoku from the blades. Focus power along the blades, and release it from the tips. Even a monkey like you can do that, right?** ”  
“Knowing the name of the attack and not knowing it, greatly differs with the attack power. The name of this technique is-”  
“- **Getsuga Tensh** **ō.** ”

Ichigo did as they demonstrated, and had to marvel at how two arcs of black light shot out of the daggers, leaving a faint white after image.  
The blasts impacted a nearby sideways skyscraper, punching curved holes in the surfaces with ease, before detonating shortly afterwards.

“ **You should be eternally grateful for the fact that you’ve had practice with Shinigami powers beforehand, otherwise we’d be here for months, maybe a year or two. And we all know that isn’t the case.** ” Dark blithely informed him before glancing to Light.  
“I’m right, you know. Now, get back before that shopkeeper cuts you to ribbons!” Light grandiosely made a shoving motion, and Ichigo snapped back to reality, a moment before Benihime sailed right through where his head was, a split second ago.

“Holy shit!” Ichigo yelped, jumping backwards and swinging his daggers, building up energy as he went, and releasing it from the tip.  
“ **Getsuga Tenshō!** ”

Twin arcs of dark light shot out, missed, but one nicked Urahara’s hat, obliterating two outcrops of rock behind him, which, successfully finished knocking off his hat.  
“Well, Kurosaki-san. Trial 3, complete. I honestly didn’t expect you to finish your initial training so quickly. We have another day and a half spare, and before you arc up and want to go running off, I think it’s best we give you a rounded, if not basic, Shinigami education. Tessai-san! You’re up!”

Ichigo gulped, turning slowly as the mountain of a man descended, landing with a **THUMP** , throwing rocks and dust everywhere.  
“I will be your Kidō instructor, Kurosaki-san.”  
And so began a gruelling session where they determined that Ichigo was definitely **not** a Kidō user, or meant to be one. He simply didn’t have the control required, so Tessai simply taught him the insanely taxing ones: **Bakud** **ō #81: Dankū** (which took several hours of constant practice under Tessai’s expert eye), **Had** **ō #33: Shakkah** **ō** (which resulted in many eyebrows, fingers and sleeves lost, then regenerated by Tessai) trusting that should he use these, it would be in an open environment, with medical professionals nearby. Ichigo rolled his eyes, hoping the Kidō master wouldn’t see.

 

* * *

 

 

The following day, Urahara took him under his charge again, drilling basic **Hakuda** and **H** **ōh** **ō** into the new Shinigami, utterly amazed at the speed of which Ichigo soaked up the knowledge, and worked for hours and hours, until he managed to achieve the standards that he was set.

The team reunited the next day, and stood in front of the giant artificial **Senkaimon** that Urahara had created, and fine tuned while Ichigo was training with Tessai.  
He grasped Zangetsu’s hilt on his shoulder, and felt a reassuring (albeit scathing, no doubt from Dark) pulse back from his Zanpakutō.

He was going to storm the Sereitei, and his friends were alongside him, and Zanpakutō within him.

**Author's Note:**

> See this artwork for something to suit the fic: https://aagito.deviantart.com/art/Bleach-Toshiro-and-Ichigo-289945519  
> Credit to aagito, you fucking wizard


End file.
